Some extensions of Hilbert-Kunz multiplicity (Q2397140)

Let \(R\) be a local Noetherian ring of characteristic \(p>0\), \(N\) be a \(R\)-module and \(L \subseteq M\) submodules of \(N\). In tight closure theory, criteria for \(M\) to be contained in the tight closure of \(L\) in \(N\), denoted by \(L^*_N\), are of most importance. Hochster and Huneke have shown that, under mild conditions on the ring \(R\), this can be achieved if the module \(M/L\) has finite length over \(R\). When \(N=R\) and \(M,L\) have finite colength in \(R\), this criterion is the equality between the Hilbert-Kunz multiplicities of \(L\) and, respectively, \(M\). The paper under review is examining this issue in the case of an arbitrary quotient \(M/L\), using ideas from Hilbert-Kunz theory. A notion of relative multiplicity is defined and used to produce a sufficient condition for \(M \subseteq L^*_N\). This concept of relative multiplicity is examined in three instances, such as when the projective dimension of \(M/L\) is finite, when \(R\) is a ring with FFRT (finite F-representation type), and, respectively, under some finiteness condition over the skew polynomial ring \(R[x ; f]\), where \(f\) acts as the Frobenius homorphism on \(R\). Some variants of relative multiplicity are studied as well, including a numerical characterization of tight closure, inspired by j-multiplicity, that works when \(L \subseteq M\) are ideals of \(R\) such that \(M/L\) has finite length.